Heika: Stars' lack of success in back-to-back games is very troubling

1/1

MCT

The San Jose Sharks' Logan Couture (39) fights for the puck against the Dallas Stars' Trevor Daley (6) and goaltender Richard Bachman (31) in the first period at HP Pavilion in San Jose, California, on Thursday, February 2, 2012.

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- The Stars know they have to overcome their problems in back-to-back games if they want to make the playoffs, but they also could have another problem -- namely a problem against really good teams.

Yes, Dallas lost a 5-2 game to San Jose at HP Pavilion Thursday to fall to 0-8-1 when playing on the second night of back-to-back games. Just as important though, they fell to 0-3-0 against the Sharks this season and have been outscored 14-5 in that span. Dallas has three games left with the Sharks, as well as four with the Vancouver Canucks and assorted dates with Chicago and Detroit.

And with those teams all chasing division titles and jockeying for home ice in the playoffs, it’s not going to be easy to get points.

The Sharks showed that on Thursday. San Jose went 23-6-3 down the stretch last season to win its fourth consecutive Pacific Division championship, and it appears to be in the same form this season while chasing No. 5. With the win, the Sharks are now 29-14-6, good for 64 points. That’s a full 10 points ahead of the Stars (26-22-2, 54 points).

“I don’t know if it was as much us, I thought they played a real good game start to finish,’’ Stars coach Glen Gulutzan said of being out-shot 37-21 and spending much of the game in their own zone. "I thought a good indication were those faceoffs, manhandling us on the draws. I thought they were at the top of their game.”

San Jose won 40-of-52 draws. That faceoff winning percentage of 77 percent is the highest by any team in one game since the lockout.

What’s worse, Minnesota won on Thursday and now is three points ahead of the Stars in eighth place (the final playoff spot) in the West. Dallas will host the Wild on Saturday.

Dallas has tried everything to get some fresh legs on the second night of back-to-back games, but nothing has worked. The Stars inserted Nicklas Grossman into the lineup one night after he was held out for flu. To make sure the defense was covered, they played seven defensemen.

But even that decision seemed to backfire. Instead of a fresh defense, it looked like a confused defense, as several blueliners threw pucks away, and the Stars spent most of the game in their own end of the ice.

Backup goalie Richard Bachman was spectacular at times keeping Dallas in the game, but the Sharks simply were too much.

“He made some huge saves,’’ Gulutzan said. "I thought the first period could have been 5-0. He made some real huge saves.”

In the first period, San Jose’s Brent Burns made a heady play to get a shot on goal. The puck deflected off of teammate Michal Handzus and slithered over Bachman’s glove at the 4:42 mark.

Then, Alex Goligoski threw a puck away from behind his net, and had to take a penalty to prevent a goal. On the ensuing power play, Joe Pavelski blasted a shot off of Vernon Fiddler’s stick past Bachman. While frustrating to Dallas, it was clear San Jose was earning breaks and earning luck.

Dallas got its own burst of luck in the second period when it earned a power play and Trevor Daley found Steve Ott streaking down the middle of the ice. As Ott tried to get the puck in shooting position, San Jose defenseman Dan Boyle swept the puck into his own net at the 12:41 mark.

That stopped San Jose’s shutout streak at a franchise record 190:51, and it seemed to wake the Sharks up.

San Jose then scored two goals in two minutes late in the second period to put the game away. Logan Couture scored on another power play, reaching between Daley’s skates to tip a puck in, and Joe Thornton added a gimmee goal after Nicklas Grossman threw one away from behind his own net.

Jamie Benn scored in the third period to make it 4-2, but Ryane Clowe came back with his own goal, and the sellout crowd of 17,562 went home happy. The Stars, on the other hand, will come home Friday with just a few more questions.

“It’s three [games] they’ve taken from us, twice here,’’ said forward Steve Ott, who had a goal and an assist. "They’re a great hockey club over there, they’re well-built. But, it gives us no excuse to not be a competitive team against them. They’ve got a lot of skill; we’ve got a lot of work ethic. For us, we need to find a way to match up. Hopefully, the next three, we’ll turn the tide and we’ll continue to focus on competing again from there.”

To post a comment, log into your chosen social network and then add your comment below. Your comments are subject to our Terms of Service and the privacy policy and terms of service of your social network. If you do not want to comment with a social network, please consider writing a letter to the editor.